ORG Music orgm2018 Art Farmer and Jim Hall Big Blues

Flugelhornist Art Farmer and guitarist Jim Hall had a regular group for a time in the mid-’60s but (except for one occasion) had not played together since, until this 1978 LP. This is an unusual effort for CTI in that it is a quintet set without added horns, strings or keyboards. Farmer and Hall are joined by vibraphonist Mike Mainieri, bassist Michael Moore and drummer Steve Gadd for two standards, the title cut and a jazz adaptation of a piece by Ravel. Since Farmer and Hall have long had very complementary styles (both being lyrical, harmonically advanced and thoughtful in their improvisations), it is little surprise that this set is a complete success.